A report in The Wall Street Journal details how Trump’s team – including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff – have been negotiating with Russia on how to ‘bring their $2 trillion economy in from the cold’.
Witkoff reportedly hosted Kirill Dmitriev – Putin’s ‘handpicked’ negotiator – and Kushner at a waterfront Miami Beach estate to draw up a plan to end the war, while also ensuring American businesses beat their European counterparts to making money once the conflict ended.
Dmitriev is said to have pushed for the $300 billion of Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe to be used for joint US-Russian investment projects, and a ‘US-led reconstruction’ of Ukraine.
There were also reportedly talks of pursuing a joint mission between Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and Russia to reach Mars, a far cry from the ‘space race’ of the 20th century.
Russia’s strategy, according to the report, is to convince the Trump administration that they are a ‘land of opportunity’ – and not a threat.
The Kremlin reportedly hopes to ‘reshape the economic map of Europe’, while also creating friction between the US and its allies on the continent and beyond, potentially giving Putin the last laugh in negotiations.
Russia, USA and Europe should all be very close allies. Period. ABN